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Chapter 1: Gilchrist Puzzles
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Puzzle 1 : Colin Gilchrist's birth records. Colin Gilchrist's grand daughter, Olive Wilson Gilchrist, recorded that Colin was one of eight children, and that his family had been traced back some 300 years by his eldest daughter, Sarah. It is not known whether this research was saved, and if so, who has these details. Without these details this research has had been re-attempted, but has uncovered some puzzling findings and disappointing dead-ends.
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Here are the 'given' facts used for searching: Colin Gilchrist's father was also named Colin Gilchrist; Colin's place of birth was Bowmore in Islay, documents suggest that he was born in December 1831. Fortunately, the Parish records for Bowmore have been transcribed and indexed, making searching and matching possible. Interestingly, the only Colin father and son combination from Bowmore around this time was the following birth, recorded in the Parish Registers of Bowmore 1820-1854: 'Colin Gilchrist, the natural son of Colin Gilchrist, Bowmore and mother Helen MacKay-Balde, now in America. Born 1st Nov 1829, Baptised 4 Jan 1847'. The wording 'natural child' in genealogical terms means 'blood' child (as opposed to adopted), but sometimes is used to mean illegitimate. This is quite puzzling, and could explain why he has been unable to find in early census records. Whatever the case, Colin Gilchrist's family background, including the 7 siblings, remain an unresolved puzzle.
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Olive Wilson Gilchrist's re-telling of the Gilchrist family story
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Mary Ann Gilchrist (nee Diment), the daughter of Henry Diment the licensed victualler
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Puzzle 2: The missing tavern. Mary Ann Diment's marriage certificate of 1859 states that her father, Henry Diment, was a 'licensed victualler', which generally means that he was an inn or tavern keeper. This is an unexpected discovery, and raises some interesting questions: was this an inn or tavern as is commonly understood today? If so, would it be possible to trace this establishment and find out if it still exists.
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Unfortunately Henry Diment has been hard to trace. He was married in Chardstock, Dorset, and Mary Ann was born in Chard in 1833. Those are the last known whereabouts of Henry Diment until mentioned by his daughter in 1859 on her marriage certificate. The mystery remains: if Henry Diment was a licensed victualler, where was the tavern?
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